A local horse named, Octavio, is trying to determine whether his headless physical affliction is hereditary, or is a result of something else.
“My grandfather didn’t have a head,” says Octavio. “And although my granddad was born with a head, he did not come to lose his head until after he got mixed up with the mafia – through no fault of his own.”
As it turns out, Octavio’s grandfather was Khartoum, the horse whose head was chopped off and left in a Hollywood movie producer’s bed, in the movie, The Godfather.
“Does what happened to my grandfather and my condition have a hereditary link, or is it just a coincidence?” Octavio wonders. He scratches around the rim of his neck, continues. “And I honestly don’t recall exactly how I became headless. I vaguely remember once drinking from a horse trough labeled sulphuric acid. Relevant? Maybe.” He shrugs, thinks further. “And for a time, I was an assistant for a samurai, who had a malevolent sleepwalking disorder. But, is that relevant? I’m just not sure.”
Octavio just can’t remember things that might help shed light on the answers to his question. Not having a head simply makes remembering details that much worse. Local veterinarians have conducted DNA tests to determine a hereditary link with inconclusive results.
“The only thing the DNA tests have found so far is that I did inherit my grandfather’s acne, migraines, and chronic sinusitis, which oddly, still gives me trouble to this very day, especially during allergy season.”